Monday 21st February 2011

Lotus Unveils Track-Focused Elise For Geneva

Hethel proves it hasn't forgotten its baby roadster - or its lightweight ethos

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This is the new Lotus Elise Club Racer, a stripped-down, track-focused version of the Elise S (and for £27,500 - £600 less than the standard car).

Despite its ambitious future model plans and concerted drive upmarket, Lotus is clearly keen to remind its customers that it hasn't forgotten its track-focused roots. The result is the Elise Club Racer, which offers a small boost in performance (courtesy of 24kg of shaved-off weight) and a more sophisticated chassis set-up.

The most significant change for the Club Racer is the introduction of a 'sport' setting to the 'Dynamic Performance Management' (DPM) chassis control system - a first for the Elise.

In sport mode, the DPM still controls the car's various driver assistance systems, most notably the stability control and traction control, but allows both more wheelspin and more understeer before intervening electronically.

The Elise Club Racer also gets an adjustable front anti-roll bar. The 134bhp 1.6-litre Toyota engine remains the same, but an optional, track-only 'Club Racer Power Pack' can push output up to 139bhp.

Meanwhile, the weight-saving regime includes a sticker instead of a badge (saving 60g) a lightweight battery (another 5.4kg) and the removal of the soft-top roof (5.9kg saved, but you'd better hope it doesn't rain).

Further weight is shed thanks to the absence of central locking, radio, noise insulation and carpets, passenger footrest, mud flaps and airbags.

The big question is this: is less more? In the case of the Elise Cub Racer, we certainly hope so.

[anonymous-user]

Looks a bit more smoother than previous models, not sure I like it.
Needs more lines.

[chazwozza]

If they kept a roof on it, I would seriously consider one, love the low-weight-no-need-for-silly-power-ethos.
Think they would let you buy a roof (even a really basic one) to use with it? (garage filled with motorbike!)

[kambites]

Hmm. All that stuff taken out and it's only lost 24kg?

At least they've had the decency to make it (a bit) cheaper, I suppose.

Edited by kambites on Monday 21st February 09:27

[TomCooper]

A stripped down lightweight car that costs less than the standard one!
Don't see that very often

[kambites]

chazwozza said:

Think they would let you buy a roof (even a really basic one) to use with it? (garage filled with motorbike!)

Well looking at the pictures, the mounting points for the roof are still there, so I'd imagine you could just put one on it.

[Twincam16]

I like it. Goes right back to what the original Elise was.

[The Wookie]

kambites said:

Hmm. All that stuff taken out and it's only lost 24kg?

At least they've had the decency to make it (a bit) cheaper, I suppose.

Edited by kambites on Monday 21st February 09:27

Goes to show how much the minimal 'creature comforts' that everyone loves to whinge about have actually added to the weight of the car

I wouldn't be surprised if half the quoted weight increase over the years on the Elise is due to regulatory refinement on kerb weights

[ewenm]

Sport setting allows more understeer? Really?

Looks good though.

[kambites]

The Wookie said:

I wouldn't be surprised if half the quoted weight increase over the years on the Elise is due to regulatory refinement on kerb weights

I don't think so. When I had my car weighed, it was, rather bizarrely, bang on Lotus' figures (804kg). I think that was with about a third of a tank or fuel and various odds and ends in the boot. This will still be something like 50kg heavier, despite being less well equipped and less powerful.

ETA: Actually I suppose "less well equipped" is down to personal opinion. It lacks things like a roof, carpets, a stereo, etc. over my car but gains things like traction control, ABS, air bags. Why on earth fit a track focused car with airbags? Why not fit full race harnesses?

Edited by kambites on Monday 21st February 09:39

[CraigyMc]

kambites said:

Why on earth fit a track focused car with airbags? Why not fit full race harnesses?

They'd not be able to sell it in the states without them.

[mk1salami]

No roof?? Really handy then.

Add a roof and it'd be a winner.

[Alfanatic]

Can't you just save that 5.9kg on a standard Elise by leaving the roof in the pits?

[kambites]

CraigyMc said:

They'd not be able to sell it in the states without them.

I don't see why they couldn't have made it a deletable option for the UK though.

[The Wookie]

kambites said:

I don't think so. When I had my car weighed, it was, rather bizarrely, bang on Lotus' figures (804kg). I think that was with about a third of a tank or fuel and various odds and ends in the boot. This will still be something like 50kg heavier, despite being less well equipped and less powerful.

Happy to be corrected as usual, but that sort of proves it. The regs are full tank of fuel and fluids, with a 75kg driver and 25kg of luggage (i.e. 100kg payload), so it shows that the figures for your car were a bit of a cheat!

[kambites]

The Wookie said:

Happy to be corrected as usual, but that sort of proves it. The regs are full tank of fuel and fluids, with a 75kg driver and 25kg of luggage (i.e. 100kg payload), so it shows that the figures for your car were a bit of a cheat!

I'm not aware of any "regulations" requiring that, and I'm pretty sure that Lotus don't use it on their new cars either? I don't for a minute believe that this thing is 50kg lighter than my car given the heavier engine.

I suspect Lotus publishes weights are wet with no driver or luggage, but I might be wrong.

ETA: Looking at the figures for owners cars on the SELOC wiki, I'd say they weigh with full fuel but no driver or luggage.

Edited by kambites on Monday 21st February 10:06

[Frimley111R]

A 5bhp power pack? Lol!

[TheRoadWarrior]

60g saved from changing the badge.. what was it made from before; Lead???!

Good to see lotus coming out with lightweight models still- lets hope its not an empty PR exercise

[The Wookie]

kambites said:

I'm not aware of any "regulations" requiring that, and I'm pretty sure that Lotus don't use it on their new cars either? I don't for a minute believe that this thing is 50kg lighter than my car given the heavier engine.

I suspect Lotus publishes weights are wet with no driver or luggage, but I might be wrong.

Edited by kambites on Monday 21st February 10:05

Well those are the standards set out that are used in the fuel consumption and CO2 emissions test, and there has been an increasing 'awareness' of kerb weight accuracy, so the truth is probably somewhere in the middle!

Say you had the requisite 25kg worth of stuff in the boot of your car, and in hindsight I think it's half a tank of fuel so lets call it even, you're missing the 75kg driver weight in your car.

At that point your car is approx 25kg heavier than this one like for like. That's pretty much the weight reduction on this model, but then that doesn't explain the heavier engine... but then you say your car has more spec? A/C, central locking etc? It could easily make up for the difference in engine weight.

Anyway, I'm just speculating. It does highlight how susceptible kerb weights are to manipulation though!

[kambites]

They sort of make sense for the fuel economy tests because you need a drive of some kind. However, I'm pretty sure that Lotus (and most other manufacturers) don't quote those for their car weights. It would be bloody stupid to include a completely made up weight of driver and luggage in a car's published weight, IMHO.

[Ocho]

TheRoadWarrior said:

60g saved from changing the badge.. what was it made from before; Lead???!

Good to see lotus coming out with lightweight models still- lets hope its not an empty PR exercise

I imagine you've copied and pasted that correctly, but read it as 60kg...

It is slightly laughable that they've changed something to lose 60g, but I suppose it matched the Lotus ethos (just).